President’s New Gatekeeper Also a Chicagoan

January 06, 2011

Another Chicago resident is working in the White House.

President Barack Obama has chosen William Daley as his new chief of staff.

Daley, who is the younger brother of Chicago’s Mayor Richard M. Daley and son of the former Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley, takes over for interim chief-of-staff Pete Rouse, who didn’t want to stay in the job and recommended Bill Daley for it. Rouse will stay on as a counselor to the president.

The Associated Press took this picture of Bill Daley accepting the chief-of-staff position from President Barack Obama.

President Obama needed a new chief of staff after his original one — Rahm Emanuel, also a Chicago resident — left the post last year to go run for mayor of Chicago.

Bill Daley, 62, certainly has an impressive resume. He was the U.S. Commerce Secretary for the Clinton administration. He ran the campaign to pass the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). He chaired Al Gore’s campaign for the presidency in 2000. He helped Obama with his transition into the presidency two years ago, and he has currently been working as the Midwest chairman for JPMorgan Chase.

“Few Americans can boast the breadth of experience that Bill brings to this job,” said President Obama at the White House on Thursday. “But most of all, I know Bill to be somebody who cares deeply about this country.”

The chief of staff is considered to be one of the most important and influential jobs in American government.

It’s nice to see so many Chicagoans running our country.

“This team will not let you down,” Daley told the President, “nor the nation.”